NBC Sports has a new MVP.

Top line

Today, NBCUniversal announced that Rick Cordella will take the role of president, NBC Sports. The veteran NBCU executive will report to Mark Lazarus, chairman, NBCUniversal Media Group.

Between the lines

Cordella is set to lead all aspects of NBC Sports’ collection of brands and platforms, including NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Digital and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine, according to the company. In addition, Cordella will work with NBC Local on the company’s regional sports network strategy and oversee sports on Peacock.

“Rick has been at the epicenter of NBC Sports for years with a proven track record of growth and innovation across platforms, particularly our flagship NBC network as well as Peacock, where he helped architect our leadership role in sports and streaming,” Lazarus said in a statement. “Rick will oversee the evolution of our business as we continue to offer the best experiences and content to our viewers, as well as be the best partner to leagues and rights holders.”

The executive has been with NBCU since 2006 in various leadership roles across sports and digital video. In 2022, Cordella was named president, programming, NBC Sports and Peacock Sports, leading NBCU’s sports programming strategy across broadcast, cable and streaming.

Cordella has also served as Peacock’s chief commercial officer and chief revenue officer.

Bottom line

The move comes in the wake of sports’ increasingly important role in the world of TV advertising.

Buyers recently told Adweek that upfront negotiations saw rollbacks across the board, with only sports seeing increases. Meanwhile, various media companies have made recent moves to add even more sports, with Max announcing a sports tier and The CW debuting live ACC games for the first time.